Insoles and Orthotics: Wait what’s the difference?

As foot practitioners, we often get asked this question.

So here is the skinny:

Custom foot orthotics are typically devices that significantly alter, limit or control the position of the foot as it sits in a shoe and goes though the act of walking, running or other movements. These devices usually require a prescription and are purchased from a certified medical professional such as a podiatrist, chiropractor, physical therapist, orthopedic surgeon, athletic trainer, orthotist, or certified pedorthist. This medical professional will spend time with a patient and prescribe an orthotic based on precise measurement including, but not limited to, angles of the foot, how a patient distributes weight throughout the foot when they walk, and their activity level.

Custom foot insoles are also devices that may alter, limit or control the position of the foot as it sits in a shoe. They do not, however, require an examination or prescription and can be bought over the counter at a variety of retailers.

We’ve been making custom orthotics for years and we’ve seen a lot of people walk through our office who didn’t need a $500 pair of custom orthotic devices. We would tell those people to take minor actions to help relieve their pain. Sometimes it was as simple as: add an extra heel lift to one side, or wear a shoe with a little more support, and frequently enough it was: go try out an over the counter insole.

The fact of the matter is, if you want a custom orthotic device or if you have questions about what may be best for you, go visit a doctor and find out how your body moves. In addition - we’ll regularly be posting educational blog posts about our thoughts on biomechanics. We’ll try to keep it easy to read and interesting. But a good doc will tell you straight up if you need to spend the extra money for an orthotic device or if your best bet may be something over the counter.

As technology has advanced over the years, we realized there was an opportunity to help people who don’t need a full- blown orthotic by providing a really well made custom insole. One that would do a lot of the things our custom orthotics did - but that don’t require an extensive doctors visit.

Introducing the EvenKeel Performance Insole - an ORTHOTIC INSOLE available without a prescription!

Our system is simple and easy: take a few photos of your feet and upload them to our web application. From there we capture all the information we need to quickly convert your photos into a map of your orthotic insole that accurately places our patented wedging system under your feet and lets you walk without pain.

“But HOW!?” You ask? Well - stay tuned for our next post! How the EvenKeel orthotic insole works!

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